i'd be the man

I have absolutely nothing to report - yesterday I worked, and today I didn't feel well (headache and ears plugged up) and so mostly didn't work.

Oh, I guess I bought a house today, so I did do something. But that only took fifteen minutes, so does that really count?

The house is conveniently located next door to my current house, and now conveniently will not have a dog chained up in the yard barking 24/7 because I will not put a dog there myself. I'm still not sure entirely what I plan to do with it - whether I plan to make it into a nice guest cottage / short term rental, or whether I will just let it fall into the earth and not be a home for future meth heads. Either way, I'm excited to have it, and we'll see what happens!

But now, after eating dinner with [censored] and watching too many tv shows that are throwbacks to my teenage years, I need to go to bed and hope my headache disappears overnight. Goodnight!

and keep your money, i got my own

I have had a v. chill couple of days to recover from my trip. Yesterday I did almost nothing before going out to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Today, I did a little more than almost nothing (but not much) - I took care of some random tings, ran into town to get groceries, and spent most of the afternoon / evening attempting to organize all the things in my office that have slowly been spiraling out of control. I took a break at some point to get takeout Mexican with [censored], which was v. tasty.

And that's all I have to report - perhaps the week will be more interesting, but in many ways I hope it is completely uninteresting. Goodnight!

sycamore tree

I made it back to ye olde Iowa after a busy day at work and a long but easy set of flights. I thought about staying in Des Moines tonight, but I decided I wanted my own bed, which is where I am now. And now it's time to sleep - goodnight!

a stranger with your doorkey

Sorry for not blogging last night - I had a wonderful day and fell asleep as soon as I fell into bed. I spent the morning working from my hotel, and then went in for a bunch of meetings. But I was free by 4:30pm since we had a team dinner (just for the women on the team, so Adit had to stay back, which I'm sure made him sad). We went to a sushi place at Post and Polk, and we did the omakase tasting menu - which meant the chef just kept giving us pieces of sushi, all of which were perfectly presented. It was all absolutely delicious, and the company was excellent too - I like the women I work with and it was fun to see some of them in person.

When we were done, a couple of people peeled off and then five of us continued the party with a drink at Members Only. And then there were only two of us left, and we ended up meeting Adit and his friend Raffi for a final drink. That was fun, but by the time I got back to my hotel it was almost midnight and I needed to sleep immediately.

Sadly, my aging metabolism can no longer handle five drinks in seven hours with the same aplomb that it used to, and so I slept quite poorly last night. But I rallied and got to the office in time for some meetings, some free lunch, etc. And at the end of the day, I took Caltrain to Burlingame, where I met up with Barbara and Anne for a much-needed writer dinner at Pizzeria Delfina. It was great to see them, and hopefully it won't be quite so long before our paths cross agin text tme.

And now sleep is finally coming for me and I need to go to bed - goodnight!

nature is healing

I had a pretty good day - my neighbor woke me up while doing a call at six a.m., but otherwise I got my day off to a good start. I spent the day mostly in meetings, with a break for some team takeout for lunch, which was 10x the socializing I usually get at lunch + infinitely freer/more convenient food.

When I finally got back to my hotel after many discussions, I chilled for a bit and then went down to the bar to grab dinner. I know the bartender from when she used to work at a different hotel, and it's a bit strange to have known a girl bartender for five years, but I'll take it. And tonight felt like it was fully back to pre pandemic hotel bar scene - someone gave me a painting after talking to me for awhile, and another couple propositioned me for a threesome, so I'd say I'm fully back to my old self (note: my old self didn't take threesome propositions and my new self didn't either, but isn't it nice to be asked?).

And now, after a very demure two glasses of wine, I'm going to go to bed and aim for a lot of productivity tomorrow - goodnight!

in this gaudy apartment complex

No blog tonight - I'm falling asleep on my keyboard, which is a sure sign that I need to get some strength back. But I had a good day - I got to the office a little before nine, and I slogged all day before absconding to do some shopping. Then I met Grace at the Tailor's Son, where we had an excellent solo catch-up over salad and risotto and chocolate pudding.

But now I need to sleep so that I can hopefully be #inittowinit tomorrow - goodnight!                                                                   

if you close your eyes

I had an excellent day reimmersing myself in the city of sin. I got up relatively early and went to Hayes Valley to get my nails done, which catapulted me back into the realm of people who are groomed to live in cities. I then wrote for awhile before catching a car to Beach Chalet to meet Veronica for lunch.

Our lunch was excellent, although I slightly overheated by the end of it - the sun was pouring through the windows, whcih was v. pretty for ocean-watching, but even after twenty-four hours here I feel comfortable saying that 72 can be too hot depending on the circumstances. sssanyway, Veronica and I had a lovely conversation, and hopefully we can do it again soon.

Then I came back to my hotel, took a nap, and spent some quality time in the bar doing some tings while having some ginger ale. Then I went to my last excursion of the night: dinner with Adit, John, and Claudia. We met at Besharam, an Indian restaurant with many excellent dishes, and spent a couple of hours catching up on life.

But I'm falling asleep while writing this and literally every sentence contains some errors that I have to fix - so I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

sunday always comes too late

I did not blog yesterday because I was in a mad dash to get everything done. I got up early to go get allergy shots, and then I spent the day slogging fairly relentlessly. The whole time I was slogging, I was smelling roasting pork, since I had put a pork butt in the oven at 8am and roasted it for ten hours. Even after that exorbitant amount of time it still wasn't quite to the temperature I wanted, but at 6pm I pulled it in the interest of being able to eat dinner last night.

As soon as I was done shredding almost all of it, [censored] and I went out to the parents' house, where we ate the pork with Mom's baked beans and fried potatoes (yummy as always). Eventually it was time to part ways, and I spent the next two hours frantically packing so that I could go to bed and eke out a few hours of sleep. This was a little painful since I went to bed at 11:45 and had to get up at 5:15, but I survived.

Today's adventure involved flying into SF for a quick work trip. I don't want to be gone from home more than a week at a time right now, so I'm not really getting much weekend time here - and today I made zero plans because I knew I would need a bit of time to acclimate to the city. My trip was mostly smooth, although I was v. annoyed when, after sitting in Denver for almost an hour, United changed the boarding gate five minutes before boarding was supposed to start. Worse, they changed it from the end of the B concourse to a gate on the A concourse - which is a fifteen minute hike. Of course, everyone else was annoyed too, and they boarded us a little late.

But otherwise, it was fine. And, I buried the lede, because on my Des Moines to Denver flight I sat next to Harry Smith, who retired after many years on television and is now teaching a seminar at Central in Pella. We chatted briefly and he was quite nice, which was a relief since I would have been sad if he was a jerk given all his human interest stories over the years.

sssanyway, I made it to SF without incident, checked into my hotel, and promptly hermited. I did nothing for a couple of hours, and then I spent the evening in the bar eating and reading a big chunk of PLAYGROUND, the new book by Richard Powers. It's excellent, and I wanted to keep reading - but I know I need to go to bed and try to recoup the sleep I didn't get last night. So, I'm going to do just that - goodnight!

it's called freefall

I had an excellent day of work if you're into that sort of thing. I got up relatively early, partially because I had too many things on my to do list and partially because my dad's auction closed today and I wanted to be awake to keep tabs on what was happening. I am of course not as useful with these things as [censored] is, but I'm always curious, so it was fun to keep an eye on while doing my day job.

So I slogged all day, and I took a break around six to eat dinner with [censored]. I'd made a bunch of chicken taco meat in the crockpot yesterday, and today I made Mexican rice and black beans, so we had very tasty burrito bowls. Then I had one late meeting, did some laundry, made some lists, prepped a spice rub for the pork shoulder that I'm roasting tomorrow, etc.

And now I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

Thursday watch the walls instead

I have nothing to report - after having Monday off it was back to the grind yesterday and today, and I was doing my very best to focus. However, I did see my parents yesterday and today while embarking on a multi step process to fix a technical issue at the round barn (I am responsible for wireless technology support not just in their house, but other houses they have interest in). And I had a couple of chill evenings, which was v welcome. 

But I'm trying to go to bed earlier to fix some sleep habits that got shifted after my latest travels - so it's time to sign off. Goodnight!

in the fields

I had today off due to the federal holiday, and while I didn't make the most of it, I had a good enough day. I wasn't feeling particularly well when I woke up, so I was as lazy as possible for most of the morning. But I eventually rallied, took a shower, ate some lunch, etc., and then went to Centerville to stock up on some groceries. My mission was a success, and I got home just in time to inspect a couple of tings with [censored] before [censored] left to drive back to [censored].

After [censored] left, I forced myself to finish tidying up my room - I still need to vacuum, but it's mostly back in shape. After spending the whole weekend cleaning out my closets (using the Marie Kondo method of asking myself if each piece sparks joy - and then trying on many things to remember details like how there are some tops I never wear because they rub my neck the wrong way), I had to pack up four garbage bags of clothes to donate + one bag of the most expensive stuff that I'm going to send to Thredup and hopefully get some sort of store credit (although it will be pennies on the dollar of what the stuff is worth).

When I was done putting my room in order, I made a lateish dinner (tofu stirfry, delish), and then relaxed / journaled / did some skincare stuff until now. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

I love you and it's ruining my life

I had a pretty productive and fun day all in all, so I'll take it. I spent most of the day embarking on a massive cleanup project, which will be satisfying when I'm done but currently just seems like even more of a mess. I also drove my parents' gater from the shop to home, which was a nice interlude in the sun. And I helped Dad procure fried chicken gizzards, with are not my thing but at least he can get them.

This evening, [censored] and I had an unusual excursion to Des Moines to see an 8pm comedy show starring Taylor Tomlinson. It was v v funny, and I'm looking forward to seeing the special when it finally airs to see how the site evolves as she gets through more cities and practice sessions. But we loved it and it was worth going to, even if it made for a late night.

And speaking of, it's time for bed - goodnight!

dirty bit

Yesterday I had lots to report but v little energy, and today I'm feeling the same, but I'll try to persevere. Yesterday was the open house for my dad's auction, so I skipped out on work during lunch and went to his shop to avail myself of the free lunch that the auction company had catered. I'm not going to buy a backhoe, but I did get a free ribeye and some chest potatoes and baked beans catered by the restaurant in Seymour. The auction is all quite bittersweet, and we'll see how it does when it closes next week. 

I spent the rest of yesterday slogging. Then I had a library board meeting and some takeout from the Mexican restaurant. And then I went to bed with the intention of getting up early and slogging...

... But instead I got up a little late and slogged. Then I went to get allergy shots, came home, worked and ate lunch, and took a long walk around town while talking to my friend Tanya. I worked the rest of the afternoon and tried to make the most of one of my last balcony days of the year, but the tiny biting insects have been bad the last couple of weeks, and they drove me inside.

Eventually I stopped working and went out to Mom and Dad's, where I fired up the grill and grilled four of the ribeyes that were leftover from yesterday. I also sliced some fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and made a caprese salad, and my mom baked potatoes and brought out the leftover baked beans. All in all it was quite tasty, and we had a nice chat. 

And now it's time for bed so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

naked and alive

No substantive updates today - I slogged, and I also snuck in a v. quick trip to Des Moines to get new tires, since my tires only had the memory of a tread pattern. Then I slogged some more, ate some soup, and went to my PEO meeting, which was as entertaining as always. And I chatted with [censored] when he got home while taking care of various tings. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

and the lights, they glow like i just lost the world war

I'm still pretty tired from my trip - I keep being half-convinced that I'm getting sick, especially since many other people have succumbed, but I think all the tequila I drank kept my body disinfected. But yesterday I slogged and then made myself a big batch of chicken and wild rice soup just in case I need the soup for future recovery.

Today was more of the same - I had to do some pretty intensely concentrated work this morning to prep for some meetings, and then I had meetings pretty much straight from 11 to 4ish and again from 5:30 to 6. I did take a quick walk before my last meeting, so at least I saw some sunlight. Then I went out to my parents' house to give them some soup, since I felt like sharing my bounty and hadn't seen them since before my trip. My mom gave me some tomatoes in return, and I came home and used them to make a BLT. It would have been perfect if I had real bread and also any lettuce (it was more of a BT), but the tomatoes and bacon were excellent.

Then I did a bit more work of both the day job and personal variety, and now I need to sleep - goodnight!

is that a bad thing to say in a song

I felt much better than I deserved this morning, despite yesterday's shenanigans and getting under four hours of sleep. I got up and out of the hotel a little earlier than planned, and so I had time for breakfast and a venti Starbucks cold brew to power me up for the flight. The flight was totally smooth and there was an empty seat next to me, and I got out of Des Moines with no issues. 

By the time I got home around 5pm, though, I was wrecked, so I took a nap and generally had a v slothful evening. I need to be in it to win it tomorrow, so it's time for bed - goodnight!

purple rain

I'm v v tired but I had an excellent day in Arizona. I had a nice breakfast, followed by an extensive steam/sauna/cold plunge at the spa, followed by an incredible facial that left me glowing. Then I had a sandwich while chatting with some people, and then I had many margaritas of both the frozen and on the rocks variety while hanging out in the pool and watching Adit almost get murdered in a game of chicken, which was more hilarious than murder might sometimes sound.

Then I had exactly twenty minutes to get ready before the group photo, which was followed by a riotous dinner with an excellent table of people. After was the annual Taboo tournament; I was assigned to captain a team, and we won the whole thing (after a serious judging controversy involving tomatoes and potatoes, me blocking a team from replacing a child with an adult, and Adit refusing to play on his assigned team and choosing to play on my team because he knows a winning team when he sees one).

Since I was high on life and also had had several Tims (a whiskey and blood orange cocktail created by the bartender, whose name was Tim), I ended up at the pool/hot tub for a late night hangout. I came back to my room at the respectable hour of 1:15, and I showered and packed, which should make tomorrow slightly less traumatic even though I have to leave the hotel by eight. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

I'd rather take my whiskey neat

Today started off way too early because the hotel is underground construction and decided they could start sawing at 4:45am. So, I didn't get enough sleep, but I felt pretty much fine despite the drinks I consumed last night.

I had a chill morning, and then many of us went to a mini golf place. The mini golf technology has really gotten astounding - the ball has an RFID chip or something that means the system can track the scores centrally, among other things. They also had an excellent bartender, which made it even more fun.

Then I came back, got a massage, and went into cocktail hours and dinner. The whole evening was great, but I'm falling asleep and can't recount anything else - goodnight!

always something there to remind me

It's midnight in Arizona, but it's two am in Iowa and I'm completely wiped out. However, I had a great day - I woke up early and scrambled to shower, make coffee, water plants, etc before my water got shut off for a water project in my yard that [censored] helpfully took care of (with my dad's crew) since I have zero expertise in such matters. Then I left my house since I had no water and went to Des Moines, where I got my nails done and got a haircut to make me more presentable to the outside world.

Then I went to the airport, ate lunch while doing some work, and flew to Phoenix. I never fly southwest, but they had a direct flight, and I got lucky with no one in the middle seat. So I napped and then read the whole way, which was nice. 

When I arrived, I basically changed my pants and went straight to dinner, where I reunited with various coworkers. We all hung out for awhile and then I wanted to bail on the after dinner activity, but Adit told me I had to go with the look in his eyes that means we're in it to win it, so I went. 

The activity was Topgolf, which I've never played, and there was (of course) more food and a lot of alcohol. I had a couple of whiskey cocktails and part of a tequila shot, which apparently made me amazing at party-style golf - I managed to win against several people who objectively should have beaten me, but I'll take it.

Then I called a Waymo to self-drive some of us back to the hotel, and it was just as excellent as it was in SF. And now I need to sleep immediately - goodnight!

it's only a matter of time

I have v little to report today - I got up, went into town to do allergy shots, grabbed a salad from the grocery store, and came home and slogged until my last meeting ended at six. Then I went out to my parents' house with an offering of some bacon wrapped steaks, which I grilled for them to go with my mom's baked potatoes (and the aforementioned salad, which had to wait for [censored] to bring because I left it in one of my many fridges).

The steaks turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself - it was my first time using that grill, although I've discussed it with my dad a bunch of times, and it was pretty nice. After we ate, I came home and packed as quickly as possible since I'm leaving tomorrow for a v quick weekend trip. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!